


Are You Sure I Can Call You Baby?

by LupAndBarold



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, Canon Trans Character, F/M, M/M, More characters to come, everyone already got the talk, idk if slowburn is the right term but blupjeans will be really slow :), there will be NO misgendering in this FANFIC because I don't want to DEAL with that, they all know how to not misgender people at this point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-08-19 16:31:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20212846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LupAndBarold/pseuds/LupAndBarold
Summary: After taking a year and a half long break from college when her aunt died, Lup is back. She joined Barry's Lab on whim, and found her passion in science. Barry's doing post doc research on campus, and since Lup joined his lab, things have been going swimmingly. Now, after over two years of working together, both Barry and Lup are starting to notice their feelings toward the other. How slow will this romance unfold?Oh and Taako is into the hot PhD Candidate in the lab next door and definitely doesn’t pick up Lup just to catch a glimpse of him.(slow burn but nothing is burning everything is just cute and they are both anxious beans i love them so much. the college/university au no one asked for)





	1. Wintermint

“Are you sure I can call you Barry?”

He nods enthusiastically. “Of course you can Lup, I know I’m like, head of the lab, but you don’t need to address me with formality at this point. You’ve worked for me for how many semesters now?”

“Only 5—" I say deadpan, though my lips slowly turn at the edges as he begins to chuckle at me.

“—including summers”.

His eyes fill with humor, from the way his eyes reflect visible wavelengths, to the minute creases surrounding them. His hand brushed the back of his head, and for a moment he broke eye contact, looking away with a slightly pinkened face. I grin at him and wink when he looks back at me.

“So, have you heard back about your application?” he says, clearing his throat and turning back to the scope he was peering into a moment ago.

I sighed remembering _that_ whole demon of a topic.

“no, I checked the app and it said it was still ‘_Under Review_’.” Irritation flowed through my body and I gladly let it. Trying to alphabetize field data is irking enough when no one follows the same naming convention and remembering that stupid application is just the icing on the cake of irritation.

“Of course. They’re probably going to get back to you at the very last minute. Typical committees. Have you looked into backup programs?”

_Why would I? You wouldn’t be there. _

“Nah, I’d rather die.”

Barry looked up at me then, though I kept my gaze fixed firmly on the papers I was sorting through. I glanced up after a moment and grinned. “I’m kidding. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t get into this program. I’ve devoted the last 2 years to researching for this program so, if I don’t get it, I guess I’ll just have to find something else to devote my life to.”

_Like you. _

He nods and turns back to his scope, jotting down a couple of notes in between looking at slides. “You know, Lup, if the university gave me the funding, I would hire you full time, if the program doesn’t work out.”

I twisted around in my squeaky, old rolly-chair and stood up looking at him, mouth parted in shock. “Are you serious?”

He turns to me and nods, a sincere smile gracing his features as he takes his glasses off.

“Of course Lup, I wouldn’t just let all of this research you’ve done fall through the cracks.”

_Wow. _

The sincerity in his voice rang through my ears, flooding my senses._ Pull it together Lup don’t you start_

“uhh, Lup are you gonna—”

“**NO** I’m Not—” the tears that were very weakly held back are now making their way down my face.

“--you ca..can’t just be nice to me, for no reason!”

_Wow Lup way to subtly bring up your anxiety about personal relationships! _

I turn away from him trying to take deep breaths to stop crying about someone actually being genuinely nice to me about something I’m passionate about. I hear him chuckle, softly and gently and hear him come near. In that same tone he asks, “Can I?” I can tell he’s right behind me, the smell of his cologne and the warmth radiating off him told me that much. I nodded softly and turned into him, letting him wrap his arms around me. He squeezes me with just enough pressure, that I am able to take in those deep breaths, inhaling the pine and wintermint smell he radiated.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, both to stop crying and to try to make it seem like I’m not blushing from hugging him for the first time, I bring my arms around him and give him a squeeze back, before looking into his soft green eyes.

“Thank you, Barry” I say, clearing my throat and smiling at him. “I don’t think anyone’s been that nice to me since… well you know” his eyes shift from amused to melancholy and we both let our arms drop from each other’s embraces. Though for a moment, we seemed to linger. A brief moment in time where we existed as two people, reminiscing in the past and relishing the presence of the other. A moment where, maybe that horrible thing didn’t happen. A moment where everything fell into the tapestry of the world, woven together in perfect harmony. Our fingers, lightly touching, begging for more, for something deeper, are held back by—

A timer from the incubator tore that apart. I blinked, realizing I was no longer enveloped in pine needles and watched as Barry fumbled with the timer on the incubator, muttering frustrated to himself. I turned back to the papers I abandoned what seemed like hours ago but was only a couple of minutes ago. They lay in various stacks, cross-sectioning each other in some weird organized mess that only I would be able to understand.

I sighed closing my eyes.

_God Lup, you just cried in front of your mentor! YOU JUST HUGGED YOUR MENTOR! Is that weird? It’s definitely unprofessional. _

I carefully started to move the stacks of papers around so I could put them back into the manila folders I pulled them out of. Getting flustered by the silence between Barol---Barry and I, I stopped trying to put them in folders and left them on the desk for future Lup to deal with. It was the end of the day anyways, as Barry pulled the last samples from the incubator and into the hood to dry out overnight.

“I’m going to head out now B—Barry. See you next week?” I say, in a rush, hoping to leave the lab as soon as I can to get out of this tense atmosphere. Barry nods, still adjusting samples in the hood. Gathering my backpack and jacket, as I reach toward the door, I hear Barry clear his throat, “Uh actually Lup… did you uhh want to get coffee sometime?”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding back and smile softly, “What, now? Coffee after 5 o’clock is usually reserved for dead week, isn’t it?” teasing him, I wiggled my eyebrows. Of course I knew he just meant at some point in the near future. But where’s the fun in that? He smiled back at me and his face turned a shade pinker. _God this man, Lord in Heaven above PLEASE grant me the strength— _

“No uh—I just meant—oh your laughing…”

I don’t mean to laugh, he’s such a sweet man, and the way he blushes when I tease is just too… precious? If I could see him like this all the time…

“I’m sorry Barold—I mean Barry. I would love to get coffee with you. Let me know when you would like to.” I smile, sincerity replacing the humor in my system as he nods and pushes his glasses back up his face.

“H—how about Saturday afternoon?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this is the first fanfic I've written since 2013. Long time no see.  
Also if anyone is interested, ages are as follows: Lup and Taako(24), Barry (30ish), Kravitz (26ish)  
Let me know what you think I guess, that's what everyone puts in their notes, right?


	2. Dog

_Taako HOly shit_

_Whats crackin???_

_I THINK I got a DATE With sOMEONE_

_WHAT_

_ASLKDFJASDF_

_HOLD ON WERE ARE U_

_WHERE_

_Just left the lab_

_WAIT_

_DOES THAT MEAN_

_can u just come pick me up I’ll tell u in the car_

_OH MY GOD LUP_

_5 min_

I exited the biology building, lovingly named the green-screen-machine by other undergrads on campus due to the offensively bright green paint on one side of the building. The fall breeze filled my lungs, expelling any pine needle residue still in my system. I breathed in. The air was crisp, punctuated by the smell of earth after a rainstorm. In the distance clouds rumbled, threatening to spill once again. Checking my phone, I headed to the parking lot Taako picks me up from, a short but brisk walk away from the green-screen-machine.

I could hear his car before I saw it spin into view. I don’t know why or even how he managed to get such an extravagant car but here we are. Did he get something I didn’t in that will?

I barely reached the car door when the onslaught of questions began.

“DID BAROLD FUCKING BLUEJEANS REALLY ASK YOU ON A DATE?”

“Taako shut up your windows are down.” I started to roll up my window as he sighed and rolled his up too.

“and uhh, I think so? I mean, he asked me to get coffee with him, right?”

“Haven’t you gotten coffee with him before? Where those dates too?” he was pulling out of the parking lot at this point, whipping his Maserati sports car into the main highway toward our shared house.

“I mean yeah, but those where during the school day… He asked to get coffee Tomorrow...”

“LUP HOLY SHIT my girl, that’s a FUCKING DATE”

I looked down at my phone, fumbling through social media. The odds of him actually thinking of this as a date were slim, weren’t they? I was only an undergraduate in his lab.

“I don’t know Taako, what if it’s not? What if I’m just hoping it is and he doesn’t actually want to…”

“Lup, You’re the smartest person I know. How can someone so smart be so blind?”

“Please tell me that’s another one of your euphemism’s.”

“No way José. He’s so obvious Lup, why do you think he invited you to all of those after-discussion thingies last semester? I doubt it was to stroke his own ego he’s way too humble for that.”

He did have quite a few post-dissertation-practice get togethers last semester. Those things were always full of other post-doc and doctorate candidates… and me. Huh. I’d always assumed it was just because we had worked in the same lab for so long.

“You might have a point…”

He glanced at me from the road, and grasped my leg in a reassuring way, “You gotta jump on that man, how long have you had this crush on him? It’s been years. Snatch that hunk of meat before someone else does.”

I snorted with laughter and patted his hand on my leg. “Okay, yeah sure Taako. I’ll ‘Jump on him’.”

He twisted his hand up to mine to hold it and squeezed it, making me stop laughing. “I mean it, Lup. You deserve to be happy after everything that’s happened to us. Barold is a good guy. I give you my blessing.” He finishes with a wink and I laugh, squeezing his hand back and rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb.

“Thank you Taako.”

“Don’t sweat it. Hey, did you see that hot tamale today?”

I side eyed him and laughed at him, “Yeah, I was just telling you about him,” I mocked winking at him when he glared at me for a split second before turning his attention back to the road.

“You know who I mean, that Kravitz guy.”

I chuckled at him, “yeah yeah, no I didn’t see him. I think he’s still at that conference I told you about.”

“Urgh still? Its been like 2 whole days!”

“Yeah Taako those things are usually Thursday to Sunday, plus travel time…”

He groaned, “Hey you know what, Lulu? Shut up.”

“Don’t you have his number Koko? You could just text him.”

“Don’t YOU have Barold’s Number? Can’t YOU just text him?” he mocked back.

I rolled my eyes and squeezed his hand “Touché, Koko, touché”

* * *

We pulled into our driveway leading up to our house. Well, our Aunt’s house. Perks of being your Aunt’s favorite (and only) nieces and nephews? The house itself was a bit of a rustic-electric cottage. The front and back yards were filled with various wildflowers, shrubberies, and vegetation. We cut back about half of it when we first inherited the house, but there was still quite a bit leftover. Not that either of us minded. It made us feel at home, since this was basically our childhood home.

We exited the car and Taako locked it, making it beep obnoxiously. I rolled my eyes knowing Taako just did that to see what was about to come.

Next door, a gate rustled, followed by it bursting open and a large panting beast hurdled itself through. Faintly from the neighbor’s house you could hear a masculine voice shout, “Julia! He’s out again!”

A second later a large golden retriever, hair billowing in the wind, came barreling forward toward Taako and I. Taako knelt down, arms outstretched, and I pulled out the treat I remembered to put in my pocket earlier out and followed the same motion on the opposite side of Taako. Dog skidded to a halt and eyed both of us for a moment. I waved the treat in my hand and smirked at Taako as he watched Dog trot over to me, leaving him in the dust.

“Hey no fair! No Treats!”

“You snooze you lose Koko!” I say giving Dog a good boy treat after asking him to sit for me. The neighbor’s front door finally opened up, revealing Dog’s owner, Mr. Burnsides. He was a burly-looking man, wearing a flannel shirt, cargo pants, and those utility glasses woodworkers usually wear. 

He whistled, “Come here Dog! Good Boy!” Dog trotted over after giving me lovely slobbery kisses and after receiving a couple more good boy pats. Taako and I both stood up and waved at Mr. Burnsides. “Sorry about Dog there kiddos, I gotta fix that damn gate,” He said, getting Dog into the house and closing the door behind him.

Taako responded, still glaring at me all upset like, “It’s no big deal Mr. Burnsides, you know we love Dog.” I nod earnestly in agreement.

He laughs, “You kids can call me Magnus y’know? If anyone in this house should be called Mister or Misses, its Julia.” Taako and I laugh as Mrs. Burnsides head pops up from the top of their wooden fence. “You rang?”

It’s Magnus’ turn to laugh and Julia harmonizes with him. The back of my mind shouts in yearning for love like that. _God damn they’re so grossly in love. _

Taako pretends to retch, “Oh God find a bedroom you two! I have to go, I’m out!” He starts to head toward the front door as Julia shouts out, “Oh wait! We’re having a cookout tomorrow night, would you two like to come over?”

Taako turns, quickly and for a moment he looks at me, mischief glinting in his eye. I squint at him _What are you planning—_

“We would love to! And Lup can tell us how her date with Barold goes!”

…

“YOU GOT A DATE?!”

“A DATE?”

“Isn’t Barry Bluejeans like, an old man?”

The third voice rang out from a child, on the opposite side of the street. All of us turn around to face the child. It was Angus McDonald, neighborhood watch. I rolled my eyes at him, “Get lost kid.”

“Yeah get outta here Kid—” Magnus starts, shaking his fist in the air comedically at Angus,

“—Don’t make me tell your parents you were getting in people’s business again!”

Angus’ mouth parts in shock, he turns his attention toward me, and I shake my fist at him like Magnus was, though I couldn’t help but smile at the kid. He blushes, and stutters out, “I—I’m sorry Sirs, and Madame’s. It is not my place to judge lovers in love.”

I freeze my action, shocked. _Lovers in love? _

It’s my turn to blush, and I hear Taako and Magnus laughing behind me, though Magnus is not downright laughing his ass off, unlike Taako. I close my eyes, trying to keep it together. We aren’t in love—I don’t love anyone like that…

“We’re not lovers…” I trail off, knowing there was nothing I could say to defend myself. I did have a hopeless crush on Barold fucking Bluejeans, almost everyone in the neighborhood already knew that. I groaned, pushing past Taako, who is trembling with laughter, holding onto the front railing for dear life, and leave the gathering of neighbors for a nice calming bubble bath.

_Tomorrow isn’t a date; we’re just getting coffee. He couldn’t possibly think it’s a date too, could he?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magnus and Julia are not much older than the twins, they just have their lives more together haha. 
> 
> can you believe anko mcdonald, neighborhood watch, just called out Lup like that? _THE SHADE_


	3. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm testing out third person POV, so sorry for the POV shift from the previous chapters. I might go back and rewrite the last two chapters into third person, but the story will stay the same.

The morning came far too quickly, as it always did. Lup awoke with a start, anxious that she overslept, only to see her alarm clock read 8:00am. That didn’t stop the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths trying to calm herself back into a slumber, but her impending date rang through her mind, urging her to start getting ready.

Groaning, she sits up, eyeing the morning rays gently filtering into her room through the blinds. She rubs at her eyes tiredly, reaching for her phone on the bedside table.

Lup stands at the top of the stairs, trying push her anxieties about the date down into the abyss. She patted her pockets, making sure she had everything for the fourth time, and hurdled herself down the stairs as elegantly as possible.

She had heard Taako start making breakfast about an hour ago, tinkering around the kitchen to whip up some concoction in a way Lup didn’t understand. All she knew was that usually, it was delicious, save for his late-night experiments.

As Lup landed on the last step, Taako pointed his ladle at her. She froze, putting her hands up in mock surrender, “No don’t I have a family!” Taako squints his eyes and brings the ladle to his neck making a slicing motion, letting the moment draw out and fizzle. He laughs, bringing the ladle down to the griddle to flip some flapjacks onto a plate for both of them. She rolls her eyes, giggling, and heads into the kitchen behind Taako to pour them both some coffee. The plates were ceremoniously brought to the table, followed by syrups, jams and cups of coffee as they both sat down and dug in.

“Should you be drinking coffee before going to a coffee shop?” Taako asks, in between mouthfuls of pancakes, pointing at her coffee mug. She paused for a moment, realizing she probably shouldn’t have gotten a coffee. She shrugs her shoulders, “whoops, force of habit I guess.”

Finishing their breakfast, Lup clears the table, slapping Taako’s hands away when he tries to help her. It’s a habit they’ve developed since they moved into the house, Taako cooks, Lup clears the table, Taako tries to help clear the table, Lup scolds him and refuses to let him help.

“So Koko can you uh…” dishes clang together as she loads them into the dishwasher. Taako laughs playfully, putting on a faux-deep masculine voice, “Sure kiddo,” and he heads to his bedroom, presumably to get ready to drive her. Lup feels her cheeks deepen in color, and she washes her suddenly clammy hands in the kitchen sink. The clock read 11:30, she will be early, but maybe it’ll give her some time to collect herself before he gets there. Taako returns from his room, twirling his keys around his fingers, he raises his eyebrows in question when Lup turns to him and she nods, following him out the door to his car. 

They pulled into the parking lot sooner than Lup wanted. Her palms were sweaty again, and she rubbed them against her jeans. She checked her phone again, should she text him that she’s here? What if he forgot about the date? Was it daylight savings and she was late?

Taako reached over, sensing his sister’s nerves, and gently squeezed her knee, pulling her out of the swirling mindscape. “Lup, babe. You don’t need to worry. Everything will be fine.”

Lup nods, and shakes her head trying to rid herself of those thoughts. “Are you sure it’s not daylight savings?” she asks closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before making eye contact with him again. He raises an eyebrow at her, before laughing. “If it was, you’re an hour early.”

Right. Spring forward, Fall back.

“Okay. I can do this.” She whispers under her breath, her voice faltering ever so slightly. Taako grabs her hand, squeezing it hard, “You do got this! You’re a hot fucking babe and that man is smitten. Honestly, I am too,” he fake fans himself, and Lup rolls her eyes, lightly slapping his shoulder. He turns to look back at her, gasping in faux-shock. “Lup, I’m wounded.” She rolls her eyes humored, looks at her phone again, 11:45. “I’ll wait until he shows up if you want,” Taako offers. She immediately nods her head and lays her head on his shoulder.

“You’re actually the best.” She says softly. Taako smoothes out her hair for a second, “I know.”

She straightens up then, knowing that sitting here any longer will just make the anxiety worse. She lets out a breath and opens the car door. “I’ll text you if he gets here” she says, pointing finger guns at her brother. He finger-guns back, “_When _he gets here” he responds, letting Lup throw the car door back into place.

The walk from the car to the coffee shop seemed far to short. When was that door so close? It was kinda dusty in the corners too, they really should clean it. She flung the door open, interrupting her intrusive thoughts, and stepped into the shop.

She spotted him instantly.

His back was to her, seated at a table for two closer to the other side of shop where the “main” door was located. Even from this distance she could tell he was tense, his shoulders seemed ridged, held close to his body. She peeled her eyes away; she was already ogling at him and she just got there. She pulled her phone out, vaguely clammy fingers quickly texting Taako, before gathering up her courage and walking over to him.

She slowly came up behind him, leaning down slightly to whisper, “boo” near his ear.

He jumped, his phone clattering to the table as he whipped his head around to her. She smiled at him. Now that she was right next to him, Lup could finally properly ogle at him. He wore a navy green button-up, something she only ever saw during a dissertation presentation, paired with a pair of blue jeans, unsurprisingly, and some brown oxfords. She could tell he spent time shaving and messing with his hair, as it was much more kept than it usually was. 

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” She says, shrugging her jacket off and tossing it onto the opposite chair. Barry shakes his head, standing up with her, “I just got here a couple of minutes ago.” She smiles at him and leads the way to order their coffees.

Barry was not expecting her to come in through the other door. He knew vaguely where she lived and assumed that she would come in through the door closest to that side of the city, the main door. She had once again surprised him, leaving him staring at her, a startled mess. He felt his heart rate increase significantly, and he sure knew his face got a couple shades redder. _Calm down Barry_ he thought to himself, trying to claim is racing heart. But as he took her in, the attention in the makeup she wore and how her hair was a bit curlier than usual, any attempts he made to slow down his beating heart were in vain. Lup was stunning, she always was. But he could tell she put more effort into her appearance just for the date, and that sent his heart soaring. 

Waiting in line to order, Lup hoped it was obvious she put more effort in getting ready, she knew he did, and only hoped he could tell.

Lup insisted she buy both of their coffee’s. Barry protested, insisting that he should pay but Lup swiped her card before he even had his wallet out.

Hours flew by before they realized it. Lovers in love seldom care for the passage of time when in each other’s presence. It was only when Barry’s phone buzzed that either of them checked their phones, noting the nearing evening hours. Barry looked at Lup, as if he hadn’t been staring at her this whole time and pointed at the time on his phone. She glanced down at his phone, visibly shook at the time.

“It’s already been 5 hours?” She states, shocked and suddenly grossly aware that time has pushed the sun low in the sky. Barry shrugs, “I guess it has been, I uh… didn’t notice.”

A small silence fell between them, the first one in the past 5 hours, where the thought _we should probably part ways now, huh? _Passed through both of their minds. Yet they stayed seated, looking intently at the other, hoping they wouldn’t suggest leaving. Lup didn’t know consciously, but sub-consciously, she was starting to memorize the freckles the surrounded his eyes.

Barry’s heart started to pick up again. He sure as hell didn’t want to part ways and head back to his stuffy little apartment. _But we can’t just sit here any longer, can we?_. He glanced at the time on his phone again, when the idea struck him like a microscope to the face. _What?_

“Lup do you wanna get dinner?” He blurted out, surprising both of them that he didn’t stutter. Lup bit her tongue, before a wide, giddy smile broke across her face. “That is an excellent idea, Barry. Where to?” she pauses a moment before another idea strikes her like a microscope to the face.

“Wait! —What if we go to the Cine-dine? Have dinner and watch a movie? I know that new horror movie came out a couple weeks ago… and I know you mentioned wanting to go see it—”

“Let’s do that.” Barry agrees, stopping Lup in her tracks. She smiles again, as if she didn’t stop smiling at him. As if she could stop smiling at the man in front of her.

The movie definitely didn’t live up to the reviews Barry read a couple weeks ago. But maybe that was because he wasn’t _really_ paying attention to the movie. How could he when he was on a _date _with _Lup. _Each time she stifled a laugh during the movie, he glanced at her, she glanced at him, and both of them couldn’t help but stifle laughs together.

Lup also didn’t really pay attention to the movie. Her foremost thoughts were debating on if she should make a move on him. Movies were romantic _right? _Maybe she should just… reach over and hold his hand? Subtly yawn and wrap her arm around his shoulders? Slightly lean against him halfway through?

Instead she laughed. Laughed at the dumb one-liners that were unnecessarily part of the movie’s dialogue. Each time she did, he looked at her, she could tell out of the corner of her eye. And when she made eye contact with him, even through the darkness she could still count his freckles. And she stifled a laugh. And he stifled a laugh with her.

The movie ended unceremoniously. And as the house lights slowly went up, and people exited the theater, Lup really did not want to get up. Standing up would mean accepting that the day has ended, and that their date was nearing it’s end. It had been such a _good_ goddamn date and it was so _nice _to have a day like this with Barry.

Barry was listening to the people exiting the theater. He too, did not want the day to end. But it was late at this point, nearing eight. First dates don’t usually go this long do they? Was Lup tired of him at this point? _Oh god—_

“Well that kinda… Sucked, right Barry?” Lup said, still firmly seated next to him. He looked over at her, glad he could see her illuminated in the light again. He smiled and agreed, “It definitely sucked, whoever wrote those reviews were totally over exaggerating.” She smiled, and slowly scooted to the edge of her seat.

“I guess it is getting late…” She started, looking down at her phone. Barry glanced at her phone, noticing the seven unread messages from her brother on the lock screen. He looked back up at her, begrudgingly accepting in his brain that their date was ending. “We should probably get going then… do you want a ride?” He offered, standing up from his seat. She shook her head as she stood, “It’s okay, Taako can pick me up.” They started to fall in line with each other as they walked out of the theater.

“Are you sure? It’s no bother to me, really” he continues, hoping he isn’t coming off as pushy. _Oh god what if she thinks I’m being pushy._

Lup thought for a moment, looking down at the messages Taako sent, of which consisted of:

_Hello?_

_U coming to dinner @ burnsides?_

_Oh the date goin that well?_

_;;)))_

_Or is it bad do u want me 2 pick u up_

_Bc I will_

_Use protection!!!_

She really didn’t want to part ways here, outside of the theater. If she did, then Barry would probably want to wait until Taako got here. And when Taako got here, he would of course pick up his _What are your intentions with my sister _shtick he used to make everyone uncomfortable.

“Actually, as long as that’s okay with you…” He nods at her, gesturing for her to follow him to his car. Lup quickly texts back Taako _I’m fine, I’ll be home soon. No worries. _As she follows Barry to his car.

The drive to her house was short. Well, shorter than either of them wanted. Funny how time works like that. He pulled up to the house, stopping at the curb. Lup looked at the house, noticing that both the living room lights and Taako’s bedroom lights were on. He was waiting for her to get home. She rolled her eyes, her brother was protective of her, both of them were like that, and have been since they were kids.

Barry cleared his throat, bringing Lup’s attention back to him. “Lup I uh… I had a good time today. I know we were out for a while but… I really did enjoy spending all that time with you…” he trails off, once again feeling his heart beat out of his chest. He subtly tries to rub his suddenly sweaty palms against his jeans. Lup notices this, and smiles. “I… also enjoyed today, Barry. Time flew by way too quickly today, didn’t it?” They both nod in agreement, and Lup takes a deep breath. She’s going to make a move. She’s going to do it. _Oh my god is she gonna—_

And she did. Lup’s lips met his cheek. Time froze. The feel of her soft lips against his reddening face was something he wasn’t expecting to experience today. He was glad her lips were as soft as he hoped they were, but maybe they would be softer against—

Lup pulled away quickly, the blush running deep into her cheeks and she almost flung herself out the open window. Before closing the car door, she leaned her head back into the car, noting Barry was blushing as much as she was. “Thank you for today, Barry. See you in the lab!” she exclaims, perhaps a bit too loudly. Barry nods words still not connecting with his mouth, still flustered and confused as to what just happened.

Lup threw the car door closed, a thing she apparently did when her heart was racing, and all but ran up to the front door. Before opening it, and facing her twin’s onslaught of questions, she turned back around to where Barry was slowly starting to get his bearings to start driving and waved at him. He waved back and watched as she slipped into the house and closed the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...that was gross...  
let me know your thoughts...   
thanks for reading! I'm going to try to post at least once a month now that classes are in full swing. So look out for something sometime in October!


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